SBA News

Some thoughts from Business Opportunities Weblog that deserve consideration.

Our Future With Our New President

Many wonder exactly how qualified Mills is to run the SBA given she is a venture capitalist. Well let’s see…she was a partner/director of Solera Capital a venture capital firm, a Harvard business school graduate and president of private equity business firm MMP Group. It sound’s to me like she just may have the credentials that this country needs right now.

Marketing consultant Scott Testa argues that Mill’s while being a venture capitalist is naturally a risk taker and that just may be what the SBA needs…to take some new risk’s.

Though Mills’ experience is more ambitious entrepreneur than stereotypical mom-and-pop shop, that may be just what the SBA needs to inject new ideas and resources — and, in turn, boost the ailing economy.

What are some of your thoughts on how Karen Mills will do in heading up the SBA?

Excuse me but a venture capitalist would seem a perfect fit for an agency like the SBA.

Jackson Lewis - OFCCP Directs Employers on Counting Employees in Setting Affirmative Action Plan Goals

From Jackson Lewis some importnat information for employers - OFCCP Directs Employers on Counting Employees in Setting Affirmative Action Plan Goals:

"The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) has updated its existing interim guidance regarding the use of the “new” race/ethnicity categories as part of affirmative action plan preparation. As part of the updated interim guidance, the OFCCP has advised that employers should count employees identifying themselves as “Two or More Races” as minorities in analyzing minority representation as compared to availability (when conducting utilization analyses and setting placement goals). Prior to this guidance, the OFCCP had not provided clear direction to employers about how to classify employees properly who identify themselves as “Two or More Races.”
In 2007, the EEOC changed its EEO-1 report form. Among other things, it:

1. Separated “Hispanic or Latino” from other race categories and instead classifying it as a separate “ethnic” category;
2. Added a “Two or More Races” race category; and
3. Divided the former “Asian or Pacific Islander” race category into two separate categories – “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.”"

Do read they complete post.

Trade Secrets - News

The song goes on as before: employees moving between competitors means litigation.

Clean Technology Intellectual-Property Claims On The Rise

Employees moving among these companies will cause more trade-secret lawsuits, said Bob O'Connor, co-head of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's clean- technology practice and a partner with the firm.

"Presently there is a tremendous amount of employee mobility, and with that comes the potential that information employees gain from a prior employer would be the kind of information that prior employer would not want to see in the hands of a new employer," O'Connor said.

The question remains: what has the first employer done to protect itself? Non-compete agreements, garden leave provisions, and the like are a must, but even more importantly are the security measures taken by the first employer.

Read Picture This for an interesting slant on those security measures:

The same urge is felt at businesses such as Samsung Electronics, where the desire to protect trade secrets has led to a ban on camera-phones inside some company facilities. U.S. federal courts also ban the devices, and sports teams are telling fans they can't use them to take videos at games.

Such efforts are, at best, fingers in the dike and, at worst, may fool corporate executives and government officials into believing they've actually accomplished something. Here's why: It takes very little effort to find a "spy shop"—a store selling all kinds of cloak-and-dagger stuff. The proprietor will be happy to sell you a camera that replaces the top button on your shirt, or one that fits nicely into your briefcase, giving you the same hidden-camera abilities that local television news programs so cheerfully demonstrate when they're looking for a ratings boost.

***

Companies also need to recognize that insiders, not outsiders, are the more serious threats. Then they need to work on policies that protect the information that simply must be kept secret without discouraging everyday business.

I'd urge people in authority to consider the possibility that some of the most closely guarded information would be better off in the public sphere. This is unquestionably true for government-held information, where the penchant for secrecy is frequently a tactic to keep taxpayers and political opponents from learning the details of mismanagement, or worse. It's likely true in companies as well, where information that might be used by competitors could well prove more valuable if made available to assist customers and investors in making better decisions. It might even help the company improve its products and services.

Suing Bloggers - Sort of a Follow up to "Employees and the Internet"

Along the lines of my post Employees and the Internet and extending it a bit further is Enjoining Damaging Web Posts by Former Employees Comes at a Steep Price from Workplace Privacy Counsel:

Employers should view the Bank’s experience as a cautionary tale. What started as a quick agreement and apparent resolution literally, as the saying goes, ended up on the front page of the New York Times. The case also shows how quickly journalists will publicize a story that can be portrayed as “an attack on the First Amendment.” Sometimes filing suit is not the best way for an employer to protect its interest.

Somewhat similar but for now not directly involving employees is the case noted in Jet Maker Subpoenas Blog Critics:

In the latest case of corporation-versus-blog, the manufacturer of a line of "affordable" jets is seeking to uncover the identity of persons who posted critical comments on an aviation industry blog. Eclipse Aviation has served a subpoena on Google Inc. seeking to out the identities of more than two dozen people who have posted anonymous comments to the blog Eclipse Aviation Critic NG, which is hosted on Google's Blogger service.

For employers who may not be aware of these suits, pay attention for this may become common than any of us would like.

More Premier Properties Information

Indiana Commercial Foreclosure Law has a timeline (with links) for the Premier Properties case I wrote about in Why We See Few Receiverships.

Thanks to Indiana Commercial Foreclosure Law for showing me the way to Bridgewater Falls put in receivership from The Cincinnati Enquirer. For some reason Ohio creditors had their receivership in place last month,

Beware of E-Mail Carrying Pseudo-Subpoenas

Businesses or individuals need to read Law.com's Businesses Hit With E-Mail Blast of Virus-Carrying Pseudo-Subpoenas:

"Thousands of executives received e-mails on Monday purporting to be federal court subpoenas but which appear to be part of a 'phishing' scam to capture sensitive data."

This sounds like something that may be limited to a certain level of business and individual but it is not a good idea to underestimate the kind of people behind this kind of scam.

Indiana law does not allow for service of a subpoena via e-mail. I think the same can be said of federal subpoenas.

If you get one of these, call your attorney immediately and nothing else.

News - Confidentiality Agreement Goes Sour

From Globe St.com:

SACRAMENTO-Locally headquartered Peter P. Bollinger Investment Co. has filed a lawsuit against Westfield Corporations Inc. seeking damages that it says could be in excess of $60 million. The litigation is related to Fountains, Bollinger’s planned retail development across from Westfield’s Galleria at Roseville Mall, construction for which is set to begin later this spring.

Bollinger alleges that after entering into confidentiality agreements in 2005 so that the two might further discuss a possible joint venture to develop Fountains, Westfield misused the detailed, proprietary information it was provided regarding Bollinger’s prospective tenants, rental rates, construction costs and the like. The lawsuit was filed late last week in Placer County Superior Court.

***

Filed March 9, Bollinger's suit alleges breach of agreement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, interference with prospective economic advantage, fraud, and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing. A Westfield spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com the company “does not comment on matters under litigation.”

Prevention does not always work but no prevention means disaster.